The past week has been a time of very mixed emotions for the club. On Wednesday there was a deservedly huge turnout at Taunton Crematorium to say a final goodbye to Scott Weetch, a founding member of RFRC but more importantly a thoroughly decent man who made friends wherever he went. As a result it was standing room only for a very moving service, with people from every part of Scott’s life there to pay their respects to him. Members of RFRC and Taunton Athletic, accompanied by past and present race directors of Scott’s favourite SW races, formed a guard of honour on the approach to the crematorium building proudly wearing their respective club colours.
Scott was hugely supportive of runners of all ability and would have wanted nothing more than for club members to continue to enjoy a sport he loved very much. He would certainly have been present in some capacity at the inaugural Channel Events ‘Steaming to the Coast’ race on Saturday. It’s fair to say that without Scott being a friend of the race director that the event would not have been devised. It was very poignant therefore that Channel Events announced on the day that this would become a memorial race for Scott – a wonderfully fitting tribute to him.
The red and white of RFRC was everywhere you looked in the assembled throng, who had just enjoyed a steam engine powered trip from Minehead to Bishops Lydeard, before setting off under their own steam to complete distances from 11k up to a full marathon. There are too many to mention here, but well done to everyone for supporting this new race, which looks like it will become a fixture of the spring calendar. The weather was absolutely perfect – I’m sure it will be far more ‘interesting’ in future years!
If you say marathon to most non-runners in the UK they will immediately think of London, and this year’s event saw strong club representation in the event, including a few ‘lucky’ entrants who made it through the ballot, the club ballot, charity entries and some well earned ‘good for age’ places. Congratulations go to Eleanor Perry, Ali Bisatt, Damon Butler, Isabelle Ashton, Jamie Bousfield, Nicola Kelly, Morwenna Dunstan & Nicky Chrascina.
And bucking the London trend was Georgina Brice who took her marathon completion tally to an amazing 160 by running ‘Not the London Marathon’.
